To start, no, I don’t live in a hotel. I do not know a single person who does.
I was born and raised in “Fabulous Las Vegas” and continue to live there when I am not attending college. I have known Elvis impersonators and have confidently walked through a casino since I was a small girl. When telling someone this fact, especially at university, there are two very common questions: Why attend Arcadia? And do you live in a hotel? The answer to the first question is simple: there is a castle, and my dream occupation as a kid was to be royalty. To the second question, I live in a nice house 35 minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip.
I find Las Vegas to be a good place to live when ignoring most tourist attractions; however, that is starting to become increasingly impossible as Las Vegas has decided to up the tourist ante. Vegas is known for many things. It’s a prime destination spot for 21st birthdays, honeymoons, and entertainment. Up until 2017, these factors were the primary reasons to visit Sin City.
In 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights began their first inaugural season in the NHL, which is the same year I decided to wage an internal war against Vegas itself.
You see, when born and raised a local, you develop a delicate balance between pride and passive aggression toward your city. But something about the sudden eruption of ‘sports culture’ in the desert, where our only true loyalty had been to buffets and Cirque du Soleil, felt like a personal betrayal. Vegas had its appeal of neon lights and slot machines, a comfortable feel to it, and almost quiet, which isn’t a word most would associate with my home. Then come these very loud, very passionate fans crawling out of the tunnels under the city, wearing jerseys and yelling about penalties. It’s exhausting. (Which makes coming to a city like Philadelphia, which is so deeply passionate about its sports, even more exhausting.)
My day gets even worse when I consider the freaking Raiders. One day, they were a quiet California team, of which I know nothing about (football is a mystery); the next day, they are eating up all our real estate and turning tailgates into mini EDM festivals. The stadiums for our teams are beautiful works of art, yet they cause traffic congestion and transform the city into a confusing sports identity crisis. Not to mention, the Oakland A’s will be joining the mix of confusion shortly, another stadium, yet again on the strip.
So no, I don’t live in a hotel. But I do live in a strange city, with even stranger visitors and here-to-stay residents (these stupid sports teams). People visit Vegas to forget, but that’s my home, something that fills me with so much pride and love. It will never be a place I want to forget, but something I want to remember forever.
